JAY-Z was honored with the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in honor of his cultural contributions.
Following a brief video montage, Hov walked up to the stage to receive the award, with his daughter Blue Ivy joining him as his 1997 cut “Where I’m From” blared from the speakers. Wearing a black suit, whereas Blue Ivy was dressed in white and holding a Jeffrey Levinson clutch bag, the rap legend began his speech by thanking The Recording Academy for acknowledging him with the Global Impact Award.
Joking about him deeming gramophones as “sippy cups” for Blue Ivy in past years, he notes that his daughter already has more Grammy wins than many of the artists in attendance. The Brooklyn native then turned his attention to Dr. Dre, the namesake and inaugural winner of the award.
Jay-Z and Blue Ivy Carter accept the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award award onstage at the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards held at Crypto.com Arena on February 4, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
“Thanks to Dr. Dre. All the doors you opened showed us we can be rock stars. It’s great to have an award for such an icon.” He also voiced his appreciation for “the black music collective” before acknowledging his and Hip-Hop’s checkered history with The Recording Academy.
Referencing DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince’s boycott of the Grammys in 1989 due to their inaugural win not being televised, he recalled his own boycott in 1999 after DMX was snubbed despite releasing two chart-topping albums in a single calendar year.
JAY-Z also expressed the criticisms that Black music artists have had over the years regarding feeling “robbed” of awards, including the fact that his wife, Beyoncé, has never won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year, despite having more Grammy Awards than any artist in history.
“We wanna get it right,” he said of The Recording Academy’s voting process. “Obviously it’s subjective because its opinion based.” The mogul then urged his fellow Black creatives to “keep showing up, not just in music, but in life.”
Watch JAY-Z accept the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award below.
